Melody Maker Explorer

Since 1959 the Melody Maker series has brought full and uncompromised Gibson quality and tone to professional-grade electric guitars priced for the player on a restricted budget. Staying true to this agenda, Gibson USA introduces the Melody Maker Explorer, one of four great models in an all-new Melody Maker line up. Like their predecessors, the Melody Makers for the second decade of the 21st century possess everything you need to rock, with none of the superfluous extras that get in the way. All are crafted from select tonewoods, carry a genuine Gibson USA humbucking pickup, and are built with traditional high-quality features such as a set-in neck, 24 3/4" scale length and 1 11/16" width at the nut. In short, nothing is spared in the effort to make these genuine Gibson guitars, but they come in a format that saves you a bundle. This great looking model is crafted in the image of a classic Gibson Explorer with a gorgeous nitrocellulose finish. In short, nothing is spared in the effort to make these genuine Gibson guitars, but they come in a format that saves you a bundle.

Maple has a long history in electric guitar making, and is one of the strongest tonewoods used in luthiery. The Melody Maker Explorer's body of solid maple gives the instrument outstanding clarity and sustain, and helps it retain sharp note definition even amid heavy distortion. The guitar's glued-in neck is crafted from solid quarter-sawn mahogany for superior strength and resonance, and carved to a superbly fast yet comfortable "Melody Maker profile" that measures .835" at the 1st fret and .930" at the 12th. In a contemporary departure from the norm, this neck carries a fingerboard made from baked maple, a heat-treated form of maple that has the rich brown look of rosewood but is superior in strength and durability, and totally sustainable besides. Rendered in the shape of the original Explorer of 1958, perhaps the most radical electric guitar of all time, the Melody Maker Explorer has killer looks, tone, and playability.

To ram it all home, Gibson USA loads the Melody Maker Explorer with one of its most versatile pickups. The single Seymour Duncan HB-103 ceramic humbucker in the bridge position is crafted in the image of Gibson's acclaimed PAF ("Patent Applied For") humbucker of the late '50s, but updated with a ceramic magnet for great power, clarity and sustain, and routed through a single volume control to keep it all simple. Go easy and it purrs sweetly; hit it hard, and there's as much crunch, wail and sustain on tap as any rocker will ever need. Anchored by a timeless and tuneful stud-mounted wraparound bridge at the body end and a set of efficient enclosed tuners at the headstock, with a PLEK-cut Corian nut for enhanced sustain and ultimate intonation precision, it's an incredible package for the player who wants a slice of full-bore Gibson USA quality at a stripped-down price.

Each new Melody Maker includes a Gibson gigbag and owner's manual, and is covered by Gibson's Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 Customer Service.